Go See THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON.

I snagged a free ticket to go see an advanced preview of this movie on Thursday night and I am still thinking about this movie, two days later. It's beautiful and terribly sad. It manages, in two hours to encompass all the wonderful potential of a human life and the cold, pointlessness of death. The overall theme of the movie is, "Nothing lasts. Enjoy what you have, while you've got it" which is a difficult thing for human beings to grasp. Most of us just don't think about it at all. But it's true. Everything and everyone changes. You can fight it and lose or accept it and move forward. I think that the movie makes the argument that a better, richer life is lived by those who accept it and move forward, deeply drinking in the life that they live, while they live it.

It's a sublimely beautiful film. Beyond David Fincher's hauntingly lovely world that he's created here and Brad Pitt & Cate Blanchett's remarkably subtle work here, the story, itself, is the biggest star. And it's one you haven't heard before. Because you're too busy living it.

This movie touched me pretty deeply. It made me ask questions about my own life, that I'm still struggling with now. It made me want to make some changes in the very small things that I can actually affect. I feel like there's the person I was before I saw this movie and the person that I am, now that I've seen it. And that these two people are not the same person. That there are shifts in perception that will ripple out and make bigger changes in my life and the lives of people around me. (If feels odd to think that a movie could do that for a person, but that's honestly how it feels for me. Maybe this is one of those truly great films like "Taxi Driver" and "The Godfather" that really shape the people who see it. I feel like it has changed me.)

Here's the trailer for the film. It neatly and quickly touches on every major moment of the movie. After seeing the film, I can't believe so much of it is in this trailer. But without the context of the moments you're seeing, it all just washes by, like so many pretty scenes, one after another. (After you see the movie, though, it's nice to see this flip-book of the moments of Benjamin Button's life. They're all here, in this trailer.)



Before I close this out with a link to a review that I want you to read, a review that nearly perfectly captures how I feel about this movie in a much more articulate way than I can, I want to forewarn you about something about this movie. It's heavy and it's deep and it's intense. The last 30 minutes of the movie are singularly focused on loss, old age and death. And they're very hard to take. I quietly cried to myself, for the last thirty minutes of the movie, straight. And when the credits rolled, I had to sit in my seat, listening to Alexander Desplat's beautiful music, collecting myself before I could get up and leave the theater. I want you to know how painful this movie is, before you think to go see it. Because it is. And you should know what you're getting into, before you go see it. So, consider yourself warned.

I want to link you to Moriarty's comprehensive review of the movie on AICN. You can read the review here. This guy, GETS this movie in a big way. I think it changed him too. And he's much smarter about analyzing why the film works so well. I think he'll tell you about it and answer your questions and allay your concerns, even though, he might have to spoil some key points of the movie to get you there. (So, if you're one of those people who hates spoilers - good on you, I can't do that - you might want to avoid this review.) I imagine, reading this review, without the context of what he's talking about, the details will wash by like pictures of someone else that you don't know. So, it might not be all that spoilerish, after all. Read the review. Maybe it will give a better explanation of what I am trying to say.

Here's a quote from his review...

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON is one of the most piercing, beautiful, eccentric studio movies in recent memory, an exquisitely crafted film about memory, love, opportunity, and the passage of time. Technical wizardry and emotional delicacy combine to create an experience that is, for lack of a better word, magic. Set during the landfall of Hurricane Katrina, BUTTON tells an epic-scale story that is actually an intimate emotional journey, unusual and unlike any other film I can name.

I absolutely agree. It is delicate and magical.

And it opens on Christmas Day.

Which means that you have 5 days to prepare yourself for it. Or to make plans to see it. Which you absolutely should.

Cheers,
Mr.B

V&V: Show Me The Critical Love!

I know I promised not to post any more reviews for V&V, but this one just popped up and gave me the goosebumps, it's so good. You can read the entire review here. The reviewer had some really complimentary things to say about the whole show. With only a few drawbacks.

Or just check out this really lovely little quote about yours truly...

Interestingly enough, the show's star performer isn't even one of the "vixens." Instead, it is the announcer, played by Piccolo newcomer, Mr.B. Between acts, Mr.B keeps the audience engaged with improv skills of Second City caliber; this show is worth seeing for his doctor sketch alone.

That just made my day.

I am SO going home and sport-fucking myself tonight for that review. Because, really, I've earned it...

Yeah!

Cheers,
Mr.B


The aforementioned Doctor Sketch!

V&V: Rounding Up The Review Round-Up!

Just saw the review for the show in the Chicago Free Press. You can see it posted here.

Very strangely, though, there's a flash ad for "Ghost Town", the new Ricky Gervais rom-com, that floats in the middle of the page and obscures a big chunk of the review. I have no beef with the movie. I generally like anything that Ricky Gervais does, but I'll be damned if I could get that stupid ad to go away long enough for me to read the review of my show. So, I'm reprinting it, in it's entirety here...

“Vaudeville & Vixens”
Created by John Szostek
Showing: Piccolo Theatre, Evanston Arts Depot, 600 Main St. in Evanston, through Oct. 4
Tickets: $15-$25
Contact: (847) 424-0089; piccolotheatre.com

By Lawrence Bommer
CFP theater editor

Performing in a still-functioning Evanston train depot, this plucky troupe loves to exploit “niche” genres like commedia dell’arte, British “panto” and sketch comedy. So this celebration of the contagious wonders of American vaudeville must have seemed a challenge verging on destiny.

The mostly happy result is director John Szotek’s tribute to the wonderful days of the Orpheum circuit (which played, among countless venues, Chicago’s Adelphi music hall, later the Clark Street Theatre), with its next-to-closing favorite acts, comedy duos and burlesque numbers by chorus girls spun off from the Folies Bergeres via Minsky’s. If you’re, like me, a sucker for vaudeville, this is comic catnip.

An anthology of in-your-face vaudeville, the 90-minute romp offers an uneven mix of sassy, showbiz-savvy, song-and-dance skits, hoochie-coochie choreography that seems more labored than lascivious, and go-for-broke comic sketches. Take the rampaging “Doctor! Doctor!” masterpiece that, given the right momentum and wizard combination of slow burns, double takes and inspired mugging, can have an audience in stitches. (Get it?—“Doctor” act...) It also helps if an audience, unlike the fresh-from-a-funeral opening-night crowd, goes with the silly flow and suspends its political correctness (“Did you hear about the queer organist who played only hymns?”), along with the usual disbelief.

A cross between Nathan Lane and Dom DeLuise, emcee Mr.B sets the stage for burlesque blasts like the “Red Rose Rag,” the patriotic “Bugle Call Rag,” a jitterbugging “Ballin’ the Jack,” a lukewarm tango, a klutzy swimsuit shimmy called “Trixie’s Sodden Stripteaste” and a terrific duet performed by preggo chorines imploring “Won’t You Come Home, Bill Bailey?” The hard-hoofing finale, “Happy Feet,” is all that, while David Kelch’s turn as the Amazing Mysterioso makes marvelous magic as Foxie (Leeann Zahrt) is palpably split into three parts before our eyes. It’s even amusing to watch the Outhouse (barbership) Quartet fall apart as assorted temptresses get three crooners to “meet me round the corner in a half an hour.” (Yes, the sexism is preserved for what it’s no longer worth.)

But the hardcore humor here is an extended vaudeville classic like the scatological “Court of Last Resort,” with a superbly comic Ken Raabe channelling Lou Costello as a randy judge and Mr.B as an anything-for-a-laff lawyer who does his own rim shots.

Maybe everything old is not always new again. But enough good-hearted devotion to a grand old entertainment goes into this retroactive retrieval—not to mention hilarious props and costumes—to excuse occasional dead spots and misfires. These folks will bump and grind their way into our hearts or go bust. If the audience auditions for an oil painting, well, that’s what killed vaudeville in the first place. By the time you read this, the Piccoloni zanies should be on a proverbial roll.

Wow. Great review, yes?

I'll take it. I even dig the reference to Nathan Lane and Dom DeLuise. I'll take that too, thankyouverymuch.

And I got some nice mentions in there, too. Which is always a nice touch. I like Bommers appreciation for the sketches. That seems to be his preference and I agree with him. (Some reviews focused on the dances. Some focused on the girls. This one happened to focus on my area of expertise - the funny bits.) So that was nice.

Totally makes up for the Readers morbid pan of the show. Which you can check out here. We knew we were going to be panned by the Reader. They were the last rag to contact us and request seats for their reviewer. When John, the director, mentioned that they were coming to review the show, I told him, "Ugh. They're going to kill us."

I generally feel that the Reader is harder on suburban shows than they are on Chicago shows. I feel like their predjudice preserves the concept that "anything of real value is performed in the city proper" and the rest of the city are nothing but a bunch of community theaters of differing value. I don't have data to back that up. It's just me feeling, take it for what it's worth. (And maybe note that they DID pan us, as I predicted that they would.)

I understand we'll see one or two more reviews popping up and then you and I will be done with this particular round of navel-gazing. Being reviewed is such a strange experience for me. While I've thoroughly wallowed in it, this time around, I suspect I'll be a little more jaded, next time. For the next show, whatever that may be, I'll probably limit the review-reviewing to a single post entry. And not a week's worth.

In any case, if you've made it THIS far, you probably know more about the show than I do and have absolutely no excuse for not coming up to see it. If you DO want to pick up tickets, aim for a Friday night, Saturdays and Sundays are pretty much SOLD OUT for the rest of the run. Which is a good problem to have.

Cheers,
Mr.B
Your Master of Ceremonies,



RATHER THAN ROUND UP REVIEWS ON MY OWN, ALLOW ME TO DIRECT YOU TO THE FINE FOLKS AT THEATERINCHICAGO.COM, WHO ARE KIND ENOUGH TO ROUND UP ALL REVIEWS ABOUT A SHOW, ON THEIR OWN.

V&V: Finally gets a Critical Recommendation!

The third review for the show just got posted over on the Evanston Review website. You can check it out here. And it's pretty dead-on to the show.

The reviewer, Tom Loerzel, notes that the show "more like a nostalgic throwback than a contemporary attempt to push the envelope". And he's bang on. We want to do actual vaudeville. We don't want to do a show that comments on vaudeville. That seems like one more step away from what we want to do. I can't tell you how many times I heard someone say, "That's how they used to do it, in the old days" and that was used as a guide for how we staged something. Hell, the scripts came straight out of a scriptbook that preserved the text from the 1900's. That's what we aimed for.

Mr. Loerzel gets it. It's meant as a sweet, fun, funny, high-energy, romp, lovingly delivered to modern audiences from a by-gone era. If you buy a ticket for the show, you're enjoying a valentine that the directors, actors and crew have prepared for you. THAT'S what the show is about.

He also nails this particular aspect of the show...

Even if the jokes always don't work, when they come at you in rapid-fire bursts, it's hard not to laugh.

Modesty doesn't prevent me from posting the little bit of individual attention that Mr. Loerzel shines on me. It's nice to be singled out a little bit for one's work on a show.

Mr.B also has his share of hilarious lines, and he holds the whole show together as master of ceremonies, getting the audience into the show's zany spirit.

Also, one of my improvised bits are referenced in the review. The whole "Yowza, Yowza" and "Hubba, Hubba" business. So that's nice.

Hmm, that review makes it sound like a pretty good show, doesn't it?



FOR THOSE PLAYING ALONG AT HOME, HERE'S THE REVIEW WRAPUP FOR THE SHOW:
Evanston Review - Recommended!
www.chicagocritics.com - Somewhat Recommended
www,centerstagechicago.com - Somewhat Recommended.
I'LL UPDATE THIS LIST, AS MORE REVIEWS COME IN!
(Good or bad!)

V&V: Second Review, Also "Somewhat Recommended".

Tracking reviews of ones show is such a surreal experience. Improv is, all too often, un-reviewed. So, it's a new experience for me to read these written reactions of the show that we're working on. Preserved online. So strange. What an odd experience.

Anyways, the second review is from Centerstage Chicago. You can read it here.

And this, I think, is a more accurate view of the show. Less burdened by the years of experience that Tom Williams struggled with. This reviewer, Anna Pulley, was a little more open to the experience. And it sounds like she had more fun than Tom did.

I won't bother to overly analyze Anna's review. She did a fine job of re-counting the evening that she experienced. She felt empowered by the stripteases, which is nice. And she thought that the other numbers were fun and a very silly. And that's all we really ask of the audience. One could certainly populate a marketing poster for the show with a variety of complimentary adjectives from her review.

"congenial nuttiness"

"plenty of bawdy humor"

"Vaudeville and Vixens" is a blast from the past"

and

"true to the stylings of Buster Keaton and Abbott and Costello"

Anna's chief complaint with the show? No modern reflections on the human condition. No modern reflection on the artform of burlesque, either. And you know what? She's absolutely right. It's a tribute piece, taken directly from text that is over 100 years old. There was no effort then to be more than what it was, a series of rib-tickling knee-slappers that flew at you so fast, that you don't have time to think, much less catch the stinkers. So, I'll give her that one as a freebie. It's not a post-modern piece. It's most definitely a retro piece.

One thing that Anna didn't catch, and I don't fault her for this, there's no way that she could possibly know this. 80% of what I am saying as the Master of Ceremonies, out there is improvised, on-the-spot. Sure, I have a loose structure, in that I usually know what the next number is and I eventually have to introduce it, but the rest of the time that I'm out there, I'm on my own, entirely. Some jokes killed in past shows and they're still around. But the interactions with the audience are real. The bits and jokes and asides are whatever I've just thought of or something that occurred to me in the shower, that morning. The bits that she references, teaching catcalls to the audience, was improvised on the spot, the night before and was polished up for her show. (The cast loved how responsive it got the audience. So we kept it.) And if to Anna's trained eye, they look like written interstitials that we planned out, wrote, polished and memorized, then I did my job.

Even if she couldn't possibly know that.

Or maybe she'll come back and see the show again and notice the additions, changes and freshness of the produce that I'm sellin' up there. That would be pretty cool.

So, we're "Somewhat Recommended" by another online critic. Although, to be fair, this one had much less of a stinkeye to give us.

Cheers,
The Master of Ceremonies...



FOR THOSE PLAYING ALONG AT HOME, HERE'S THE REVIEW WRAPUP FOR THE SHOW:
www.chicagocritics.com - Somewhat Recommended
www,centerstagechicago.com - Somewhat Recommended.
I'LL UPDATE THIS LIST, AS MORE REVIEWS COME IN!
(Good or bad!)